Hanging Out Together
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.Psalm 127: 4-5
"Thanks for being my shopping buddy." I turned to Rebecca and gave her a gentle pat on the back as we walked to the car together. "It's nice to have someone to do errands with. And besides, I can really use your help with John's baby shower."
"Sure," my newly-turned teenager replied. "It'll be fun!" Height wise, now eye-to-eye, I had to remind myself that she was my baby girl.
Our first stop was the bank. Located in the lobby of a food store, I offered Becca the opportunity to buy herself a donut. "And can you pick me out a vanilla icing, custard one?" I added, as I handed her a dollar. "Then I'll meet you at the front of the store." She smiled, and we momentarily parted ways.
Reuniting, we continued our errands to the Dollar Store, Bakery, and Babies-R-Us. As the hours passed, I asked, "Are you hungry for lunch?"
"Sure," Rebecca replied.
"How about Burger King?" I asked.
Her reply was a smile and a nod.
"We can each pick three things from the dollar menu," I offered. "That's all the money I have."
Opting to dine in, rather than drive through, we had a nice quiet time together.
"When I'm out alone on errands, I don't do these things," I explained to my daughter, "But since we don't get much opportunity to be alone together, I like to make it special."
It doesn't take much to show your child that you love her. In fact, cost is insignificant. What matters most is the time and effort that is put into cultivating the relationship. Rebecca and I didn't have any earth-shattering conversations, nor did we share deep, dark secrets. I just enjoyed being with her.
And with a large family, children getting married, and grand children being born, I suddenly realized that I need to do this more. Time is passing far too quickly.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for this bonus day with my "baby" girl! Help me to always give individual attention to each of my children, so that I stay personally connected to all. Thank you for the blessing of many children, and for the "specialness" that each brings to our family.
